Syllabus

Fall 2002, Tues. and Thurs. mornings, 10:00 -11:15 in Campus Center 42. Course home page: http://www.d.umn.edu/~cstroupe/comp5230

Dr. Craig Stroupe, 726-6249, Humanities 424
cstroupe@d.umn.edu; Office hours Tues and Thurs mornings, 11:15 - 12:15 or by appointment

Purpose | Expectations | Resources Needed | Grades

Purpose

In his 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida examines the rise of a group of people in the global economy "whose function," says Booklist, "is to create new ideas, new technology, and new creative content. In general this group shares common characteristics, such as creativity, individuality, diversity, and merit. The author estimates that this group has 38 million members, constitutes more than 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, and profoundly influences work and lifestyle issues. The purpose of this book is to examine how and why we value creativity more highly than ever and cultivate it more intensely." (You can see more on this book from amazon.com.)

The purpose of this course is to help ensure that you are well prepared to join this economic group whose work adds creative value not only to the economy, but to our cultures and civic life. For this reason, the emphasis of this course must be on creative and cultural problem solving, rather than on the mechanics of producing HTML pages and Web sites (though I don't assume you have any prior knowledge of these matters, and will provide you with introductions and resources to master to these basic skills). The goals of this course are to enable you to gain practice and expertise in the following areas:

applying principles of rhetoric, design, cultural theory and creative thinking to your Web-design work and writing;
discussing your work in critically informed ways;
writing critically and knowledgeably about issues and questions raised by the digital culture;
conceiving and carrying out writing/design projects that engage potential audiences on a variety of levels, especially socially;
participating in and contributing to a community of writer/designers;
learning to develop successful working relationships with clients and support teams, which are especially necessary in the creation of documents for institutions, businesses, and civic organizations;
using a variety of software to create documents for delivery via the Internet.

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Expectations

The Projects

The five assignments are sequenced to progress from smaller, focused, individual projects through larger, more socially engaged and collaborative works. On the schedule, these projects are designed by numbers (1-5) Four of the assignments will ask you to create Web sites, and to write a two-page self commentary on each project. I will also ask you to print out the HTML pages and hand them in. The fifth assignment will be an analytical paper. There is a three-point penalty per day for late projects (including the commentaries).

Other Writing and Design Work

In addition to the design and creation of the projects themselves and writing the self commentaries, you will be assigned

analytical or speculative writings on the readings in our textbooks,
plans and preliminary writings, designs or exercises for your projects,
peer critiques, and
other writings.

Many of these writings will be kept in a journal, as numbered "journal entries," which you will turn in at the end of the semester and perhaps periodically during the semester. Other exercises and products will be designated by letters (A-Z) so we won't confuse them with the five main projects. On days when readings are assigned, you can expect brief quizzes or to write and turn in "pop" responses at the beginning or end of class. There are no make-ups on these responses if you are absent, late or leave early.

Attendance

Since this class will function as a community of writer-designers, your regular attendance is absolutely necessary.

Absences in excess of three (over 10% of the class meetings) will deduct 2 percent each from your overall grade.
These three possible absences can be spent however you wish and so there are no "excused" or "unexcused" absences. Save your "free" absences for a rainy (or snowy) day.
If you are absent, you are responsible for all material covered in class.
In addition to your budget of allowed absences, you also have three instances of arriving late or leaving early (with or without an excuse). Instances in excess of three will decrease your overall grade by a percentage point each.

For some in-class activities like the quizzes or reading responses, there are no make-ups. If on some occasion during the semester you need to leave early, please arrange it with me in advance.

Participation

A larger goal of this course is to establish a community or network of writer-designers--with a wide variety of backgrounds, expertise, and interests--to enhance your learning and enjoyment during the next sixteen weeks. The class is designed to provide a number of avenues for this community building, including peer workshopping and critiquing, in-class production work, support groups, and various Internet-based communications and collaborations. Your sincere and regular contributions to maintaining this collaborative environment will count in your grade, and of course will greatly benefit your final products in the course. Because your work is the subject matter for this course, turning in all projects and writings on time is critical; work turned in late will be assessed a 3% penalty per day.

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Resources Needed

Jakob Nielsen's Designing Web Usability. New Riders Publishing, 2000.
J. Tarin Towers' Dreamweaver 4 for Windows and Macintosh. Peachpit Press, 2001
David Trend (editor), Reading Digital Culture, Blackwell, 2001
Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas, Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh, Peachpit Press, 2002
a UMD e-mail account
a Zip disk for saving and transporting your work
occasional access to a digital camera, or several high-density, IBM-formatted floppy disks for use in a digital camera to be checked out from UMD
access to a printer, or funds for printing
a flat binder to organize and keep in-class writings (journal)

Grades

Your work on the five projects (weighed variously according to the size and complexity of the project): 60% total
The quality and insight of your written self commentaries, exercises, and other writings (including the lettered assignments and journal entries): 30%
Participation in class generally, including in-class activities and contributions, online discussions and exercises, attendance, promptness: 10%

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